Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality flag

Today, 20 June 2002, saw the official launch of the coat of arms and
flag of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality in the
Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The metropolitan municipality
covers the area of the former Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and
Despatch local councils. In addition to the new
flag there is also a banner.
At the launch this morning there were two flags, one already hoisted
on a flagpole on the City Hall roof (on the flagpole where
the old Port Elizabeth flag used to be hoisted), and one on a pole in the
entrance porch, but the only device formally unfurled was the
banner, which was specially rigged up on a horizontal pole above the
entrance.
No proportions are specified for either flag or banner, and the flag
image follows the proportions of the miniature flags handed
out at the launch.

I’m not sure when the Port Elizabeth flag was taken into use, but the Arms on it
are those granted in 1952 – see
my
page . The flag could be seen flying on the City Hall from at least
1979 onwards, but ceased to have official
status at the end of 2000 following the re-organisation of local government in
South Africa. Following the December 2000 municipal elections, all the existing municipalities
in the country were merged into new ones. There had, since 1995, been four metropoles:
Cape Town, Johannesburg,
Pretoria
and Durban. (These four had boundary adjustments, and I think Pretoria, at least, was enlarged. The Pretoria metro
also changed
its name to Tshwane.) In 2000 Port Elizabeth became
part of the new Nelson Mandela Metropole comprising Port Elizabeth, Despatch and Uitenhage.

As far as I know, neither Despatch nor Uitenhage had flags, but to
see their arms follow the links from the Port Elizabeth page on Armoria.
Mike Oettle, 21 Jun 2002

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality comprises the
former municipal areas of Port Elizabeth, Despatch and Uitenhage in the Eastern
Cape Province. A new coat-of-arms and flag for the metro council were
officially adopted on 20 June 2002. The metropolitan flag is white with
the new arms placed in the centre with a light blue outline and words “Nelson
Mandela Metropolitan Municipality” written vertically on the hoist side. The
arms were graphically designed with the symbolism explained as follows:
The elephant tusks and
beadwork allude to the diverse cultural heritage of the region;
The blue wavy lines
represent water, both the rivers within the metropolitan area and the sea;
The repetitive pattern
down the centre of the arms represents a backbone;
The three silhouetted
human figures represent a family and also the values of nurturing a new
generation;
The cogwheel, hammer
and ship symbolise industry, commerce and trade in the metropole and progress in
all these fields of activity;
The elephant is part
of the indigenous wildlife of the area. The world famous Addo Elephant Park is
located adjacent to the metropole and house descendants of the elephants which
once roamed freely in the area. In traditional folklore the elephant, with its
strong family ties, has come to symbolise leadership, intelligence and wisdom;
The natural
environment of the metro is jointly represented by the elephant and the aloe;
The rising sun, in
both African and Western traditions, represents the birth or dawn of a new era;
and
The combination of the
knobkerrie and spear represents authority, as well as protection of all the
people and assets in the region. The fact that they are more horizontal rather
than vertical is a sign of peace.
The motto is “Working
together for Ubuntu”.

Neither the
coat-of-arms nor flag have been registered with the Bureau of Heraldry.
Bruce Berry, 22 Jun 2002

The slogan says, " WORKING TOGETHER FOR UBUNTU". Can anyone tell
me what Ubuntu is?
Dean McGee, 22 Jun 2002

I found quite a few pages on the web. Here is a summary:
"Ubuntu is a Zulu word that means 'people working together for a
common cause.' "
"Ubuntu" means "we are because of those who went before us."
"Ubuntu in the Xhosa language is generally defined as community
solidarity."
"Ubuntu refers to the African tradition of working together, caring
and sharing"
"Ubuntu" is a word found in several African languages, which means
"humanity" and "generosity" at the same time."
All in all, it seems to be a quite complex term, encompassing sharing,
humanity and working together, but 'solidarity' seems to be central.
Ole Andersen, 22 Jun 2002

I have given an answer on my
page, which tries to cover a broad field of meaning. But the answers
you have there are all more or less correct. I should just add that I have
used the term isiNguni, because that covers isiXhosa and
isiZulu
(as well as the Swazi language [isiSwazi/Seswati] and the three
distinct languages called isiNdebele). I am not certain as to whether
it occurs in all of those, but it's highly likely that it does. It certainly
crops up in both isiXhosa and isiZulu. The main language
spoken in Nelson Mandela Metropole is isiXhosa.
I have heard the saying put in the plural, but apparently it's mainly
used in the singular, and one has to be consistent in one's use of either
singular or plural for some reason. But you can see in that sentence the
connection between mntu ("a person") and abantu ("people").
It's from the word abantu that the Bantu language group is named.
Mike Oettle, 26 Jun 2002

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality banner

image sent by Mike Oettle, 21 Jun 2002

Port Elizabeth flag

image sent by Mike Oettle, 21 Jun 2002

The arms of Port
Elizabeth were based closely on those of Sir Rufane Donkin, the Acting Governor
of the Cape Colony in 1820 – 1821. The whole of the shield is taken from the
Donkin family arms except for the two anchors, which were added as a necessary
difference and as reference to the port. These arms were formally approved by
the City Council in May 1958 and formally granted by Letters Patent from the
College of Arms in August 1958. The arms were subsequently registered,
unchanged, with the South African Bureau of Heraldry in April 1986 and are
described as follows:
ARMS: Gules on a chevron Argent between two Cinquefoils in chief and a Bugle
Horn stringed in base Or three Buckles Sable a Chief embattled of the second
thereon an elephant statant between two anchors proper
CREST: Issuant from a Mural Crown Gules charged with three annulets Or a three
masted ship in full sail proper flying from the main mast a Pennon of the first
MOTTO: TU MELIORA SPERA (Hope thou for better Things).

The arms were placed in
the centre of a white field on the municipal flag of Port Elizabeth. This
flag is no longer used following the reorganisation of local government in South
Africa in December 2000 when Port Elizabeth became part of the Nelson Mandela
Metropole.Bruce Berry, 22 Jun 2002